


What Siblings Are For

by monogramsalarm



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, Sibling Bonding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-13
Updated: 2018-08-13
Packaged: 2019-06-27 00:18:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,084
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15674202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/monogramsalarm/pseuds/monogramsalarm
Summary: Taako had a big secret. He acted as if it were the biggest thing, something life changing. Really, he just needed glasses. It was something that would stay between him and Lup; sort of a siblings-only secret. But, living with six other people in a small ship for a century, Taako was bound to be discovered at some point. A new sibling gets added to the mix, Taako teaches her to bake, and he finally opens up to someone.





	What Siblings Are For

Taako had a big secret. It wasn’t something he could hide for long, but he tried with all his being to make sure nobody figured it out. Lup knew. It wasn’t like he could keep things from his twin sister, they never left each other’s side. He acted as if it were the biggest secret, something life changing. Really, he just needed glasses. Taako usually wore contacts so it was mostly hidden, but some days they just wouldn’t go in right or he’d be too tired to try and get them in. They were embarrassing to him. He believed thick black rims stood out against his otherwise soft appearance, starkly contrasting everything else about him. In reality, they looked fairly normal; if anything it made him  _ more  _ attractive, showing that he was capable of something normal other than him looking perfectly, almost ethereally beautiful. But it was something that would stay between them; sort of a siblings-only secret.

The late nights on the ship were when he could relax a little and wear his glasses. After five cycles, he knew where everyone stayed when they couldn’t sleep. Davenport and Lucretia stayed in their rooms, Magnus and Barry usually liked staying in their ship’s equivalent of a living room, Merle tended to his plants, and Lup would usually bug Taako and hang out with him when she couldn’t sleep. The kitchen had become Taako’s haven. Baking eased any stress or insomnia he had, and the rest of the crew loved the result of his inability to sleep.

Taako lazily washed his hands as the sound of running water filled the kitchen. His big cookbook was out in front of him, open to his sugar cookie recipe. Frosted or not, they always turned out killer and he knew his family would love it. He looked around to make sure he was the only one in the room, then pulled out his glasses. He’d managed to get the first batch in the oven before a voice behind him scared him so badly that he knocked his book to the ground.

“I like your glasses, they kinda look like mine,” Lucretia sat on the counter, a pen behind her ear and her glasses on her head. She obviously couldn’t sleep either, but she was still in her pajamas unlike him. Taako shook from the surprise and set his arm down on the counter, laying his forehead against it.

“Fucking hell, Lucy, I didn’t see you come in! You scared me so badly—“ He stopped, whipping his head back up as the realization hit that she saw him wearing his glasses. “Shit…” Taako muttered, pulling his glasses off his face.

“Hey, I like them! They make you look smarter than I thought you were,” she elbowed him teasingly, causing him to crack a small smile. Taako wiped flour off of the cover of his fallen book.

“I don’t really like wearing them, y’know? It’s just something of my own, I get… Embarrassed I guess. I feel like people see me differently when I’m wearing glasses.” Setting his book down, he turned to her as he leaned against the counter. “Promise you won’t tell anyone, Lucretia?”

“My lips are sealed!” She pretended to zip her lips shut and throw away the key. He chuckled, wiping the counter top down as he replaced his glasses. “How long have you had them?” She kicked her feet out slightly.

“Uh… Only a little while, actually.” He rubbed his neck. “Right before we came to the Institute. I realized that it wasn’t normal to not be able to see shit and Lup suggested glasses. I was thrilled about the fact that contacts were an option but… I dunno, I didn’t think about the fact that some days they just won’t go in right and I have to wear these as a backup.” Taako hopped up on the counter next to her. “How’d you get used to your glasses?”

“Oh, I’ve had these since I was seven.” She shrugged. “I actually had trouble reading and writing. I thought it was just because I was developing those skills slower, but my moms suggested that I get my glasses and then I realized it was because I couldn’t see hardly anything on the pages without them.” Lucretia laughed. “At that point I had to wear them everyday so it just became normal. I went from barely being able to read a sentence out loud in class to being able to read a huge book in an hour.”

“I could have guessed that you’d always been a nerd.” Taako nudged her playfully. “So, two moms, huh? That must have been nice!” He tried to pull the conversation away from his glasses. Lucretia suddenly went quiet again, nodding slightly.

“Yeah, i-it was for a while.” She tapped her fingers lightly on her leg, not knowing if she could open up quite yet. “I… Uh… I lost them a little bit before going into the Institute.” Her voice wavered slightly and Taako stopped.

“Luce, I didn’t mean to… I-I’m sorry I brought it up.” There was an uncomfortable silence before Taako spoke up once more. “Lup and I were really close with our Aunt Tilla. She taught us how to cook, we lived with her for a lot of our early childhood. Her passing is really why we were on our own for so long. She wouldn’t have let it happen, but at that point we had no more relatives who wanted to take us in. So we ran.” He looked down, toying with the necklace he’d always kept on for two years straight. “I understand loss, it must have been really hard on you.” He felt her slowly take his hand and he squeezed it, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand.

“Can I tell you a secret?” Lucretia asked quietly. He nodded in response and she laughed a little at herself. “The reason I’m so quiet is because I’m intimidated by you all. For whatever reason, you’ve become so close so quickly, and I feel like I haven’t felt that bond with someone yet. But I think I have now, it’s kind of… Like a sibling?” She furrowed her brows, trying to think. “You know, like, I love teasing you but we can also just talk about things, but I’ll throw your ass under the bus in a second but I also love you.” Taako snorted in response.

“That’s exactly what siblings are. Guess you’re just my little sister now.” He hopped off the counter, pulling the cookies out of the oven.

“Wait, really?” She perked up. “I’ve never had siblings before.”

“Well, now you’ve got one,” He began to make some frosting. “Wanna come decorate these cookies?” Lucretia nodded, hopping off of the counter. It had been five cycles and he’d barely known anything about her. But he wasn’t going to make that mistake again, now she was his honorary little sister. They worked on frosting the sugar cookies for hours, when eventually the rest of the crew came in for breakfast. Taako scrambled to tuck his glasses away, hoping nobody noticed. Lucretia saw his panic and grabbed the tray they were decorating on, rushing forward to distract the crew from his glasses.

“Hey, we made these for you guys!” Lucretia held out a tray with 5 cookies decorated like each one of them. Magnus beamed, picking up the small cookie with sunglasses and bright auburn sideburns.

“These are tight as hell! I bet they taste as good as they look,” he bit into one and high fived Taako, who almost missed because he barely saw Magnus’ hand without his glasses on. “Fuck yeah, I love it!”

“Thanks, homie,” Taako laughed, then pulled out a smaller plate after blindly searching the countertop. “Luce? I made one of you too.” She gave him a small smile, picking it up carefully. He’d done the same for her as they did with the rest of the crew. A small version of herself as a cookie person.

“When did you make this?” Lucretia asked quietly, looking at him.

“Oh, it was when you left to change out of your pajamas.” He shrugged, smiling. “Do you like it?”

“Well, let me see how it tastes.” Lucretia laughed and took a bite. Her eyes widened and she stared down at it in amazement. “Hot diggity shit… That is a  _ baller  _ cookie!” Taako suddenly laughed, doubling over as he wheezed.

“Holy shit Lucy, I can’t believe that came out of  _ you _ !” He cackled, wrapping an arm around her. “You should speak up a lot more, you’re fucking amazing.” He hugged her tightly. Lucretia smiled to herself, finally hugging him back. “Can’t believe it took almost six years to figure that out.” Taako said softly, then pulled away. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go grab my contacts so I can actually see.” He started stumbling out of the room and Lup stopped him.

“Forget your glasses again, Koko?” She looked him up and down. He looked back at Lucretia and smiled a little.

“Nah, I just took them off. Long story, I’ll tell you later, Lulu.” He pat her on the back, then headed back to his room. He flopped over onto the bed, feeling worn out. After putting his contacts in, he made a note to himself to teach Lucretia to bake, knowing she’d have the same patience to make it right that he did. As he wrote that note, he continued making others, realizing how much he wanted to do with Lucretia. He snorted, laying back on his bed.

“Got a new best friend, huh?” Lup peeked in the room and Taako shrugged.

“Guess so. Did you talk to Lucy?” He sat up.

“Yeah, she loved hanging out with you last night.” Lup sat next to him. “I think this mission is good for us. A decade ago, we barely talked to anyone aside from the two of us but you just spent the entire night talking to someone you didn’t know super well  _ and _ told her about aunt Tilla.” She leaned against his shoulder. “We don’t open up well. Hell, I just left the room one time because I didn’t want to cry in front of Barry and didn’t talk to him for a week. But I think this is good… Right?” Lup took a deep breath.

“I think it’s better than good, Lulu.” He smiled. “I think we needed this, otherwise we weren’t going to open up. Like, two years ago when Magnus bought best friend necklaces for the three of us? I don’t take mine off, I think that means we’re finally letting others in.” He held her hand. “Maybe next time you’ll be able to let a tear out in front of Barry, or I’ll be able to keep my glasses on when I talk to Magnus. Little steps, y’know?”

“Yeah, baby steps.” Lup nodded, smiling a little. “So, you told Lucretia that she’s our sister, huh?” She teased.

“Yeah, it’s non-negotiable.” He grinned, pushing himself up off the bed. The rest of that year, Lucretia always came to Taako’s room when she couldn’t sleep. And he was more than happy to go to the kitchen to show her a new cookie recipe whenever that happened. She always knew how to get a laugh out of him by saying “hot diggity shit, that is a baller cookie.”

There was one recipe he never got the chance to show her. Over a century later, he made a batch of those cookies and she responded the same way she always did. He had no clue why, but when he heard those words at the Bureau’s Candlenights party, he felt like he had to explain how to nail the macarons, to show her the right way to grind up the almonds to get the right texture. He almost asked her to bake with him before remembering the reason he didn’t cook for anyone any more. A year after that party, he presented her with a Candlenights gift that he felt meant more to him than it did to her. A small card with directions to a small place he’d rented for the weekend for a “siblings trip,” for her to join him and Lup. He was finally going to show her how to make macarons, and this time he was going to make sure she knew how much he cared. After all, that’s what siblings were for.


End file.
